The Thruway Authority is ready to roll out its fixes for cashless tolling.

Ahead of schedule, to boot.

Starting Monday, the agency will launch its amnesty site thruway.ny.gov/amnesty, allowing customers who have crossed the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to pay their tolls — and avoid fees — either online or by mail, while avoiding the fees.

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State Thruway Acting Director Matthew Driscoll responds to questions during an editorial board meeting about cashless tolls and the amnesty program at The Journal News/lohud headquarters in White Plains on Jan. 17.(Photo: John Meore/The Journal News)

Even drivers in collections or with suspended registration are eligible. Tolls must be paid in full and once that's done, registration will be restored and fees waived.

The program will last until Feb. 26.

There is $8 million in outstanding tolls over the bridge, $5.2 million of which are from passenger cars. The Thruway hopes to recoup all of the tolls but is foregiving about $3 million in fines.

The other $2.8 million in outstanding tolls are from commercial vehicles.

E-ZPass Discount

Right now, 83 percent of tolls across the new bridge are paid for via E-ZPass.

Tuesday, Thruway Authority Acting Executive Director Matthew Driscoll pushed E-ZPass as a surefire way to a void the troublesome Tolls by Mail system, where residents have been having most of their problems.

"If you don't want to deal with a bill in the mail, the easiest way, the smartest way, is getting an E-ZPass," Driscoll said.

To that end, there is an E-ZPass discount program in place, too.

If a resident buys an E-ZPass and registers it between Feb. 1 and Feb. 26, they will receive a $10 account credit if you take 10 trips on the Thruway within the next six months.

The rest

Amnesty and the E-ZPass discount program are the two biggest things that will interest readers around the Lower Hudson Valley.

But the Thruway Authority is doing more.

In the coming weeks, the agency intends to put up new signs in the run up to the toll gantries emblazoned with "WE WILL BILL YOU" and encouraging them to call **826 to learn about toll payment options.

The Thruway Authority will also be sending bills in new envelopes with redesigned bills. The envelopes will explicitly say a bill is enclosed and the bill itself will warm drivers to pay their toll.

The Thruway will also push drivers to update their information with the Department of Motor Vehicles. As the system uses photographs of license plates to determine who owes a toll, the address registered with the DMV is where the bill is sent.

The agency says they have not found an instance where bills have not been sent out.